Vascular abnormalities can be serious medical conditions that require prompt and effective treatment. An aneurysm, for example, is a bulging or ballooning portion of the wall of a blood vessel, usually an artery, that is the result of a weakened area of the artery wall. As the aneurysm enlarges, the walls of the artery become thinner, and the risk of rupture increases. A ruptured aneurysm can cause severe hemorrhaging, other complications, and death. Weakened walls of the arteries can be hereditary or can be caused by disease, such as arteriosclerosis.
In some cases, a tear may develop in the inner layer of the aorta, and blood may flow through the tear into the middle layer of the aorta, as shown in FIG. 1. This blood flow may cause the inner and middle layers of the aorta to separate and create a false lumen. This is known as a dissection. Dissections can be fatal if the false lumen ruptures the outside aortic wall. Moreover, a dissection may cause malperfusion, which may limit or cut off blood flow through the aorta or its branches to one or more organs.
In such cases, prompt and effective medical attention is necessary to reduce the risk of patient mortality. Conventional methods of treating vascular conditions such as aortic dissections, however, carry with them additional risks to the health of the patient, especially in the elderly.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and apparatus for treating aortic abnormalities in a way that minimizes the risks to the patient, is reproducible, and is simple to administer.